Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS FT will take responsibility for the financially beleaguered mental health trust’s services from 1 January. There will be no change as to how the organisation delivers its services to people in Manchester during this immediate next phase of the acquisition, when an agreement about joining together will be drawn up between the two organisations, overseen by NHS Improvement.

According to MMHSCT’s chief executive, Michele Moran, the takeover – which was the only solution found to keep the trust from folding – will lead to be a more integrated, joined-up mental health service in line with the FYFV and the city’s health and social care devolution plans.

But Moran herself has recently been criticised as it emerged she will be leaving MMHSCT to head up an even bigger trust, despite having presided over the mental health trust’s financial deterioration and eventual takeover by the neighbouring FT.

The outgoing boss, who will join Humber NHS FT as its interim chief executive from 1 September, was described by MMHSCT’s chair as an “excellent, high performing CEO” that achieved a “successful sustainable future for staff and patients”.

But local MPs highly disagreed with this positioning. Former shadow education secretary and MP for Manchester Central, Lucy Powell, told the M.E.N that the appointment “smacks of the NHS revolving door syndrome”.

“I think the public would, rightly, ask whether someone who has just overseen such difficulty should just walk straight into another highly paid job,” she told the paper.

The priority over the coming weeks and months with respect to the merger will be to “better understand” the MMHSCT and engage with its staff, service users and carers, according to Bev Humphrey, chief executive of foundation trust. Whilst this happens, there will be no change to current service provision.

In February, the mental health trust proposed nine services that could be stopped in order to find £1.5m in savings, despite having racked up a deficit black hole of £7m. Whilst these haven’t yet been closed in practice, some may still face the axe as part of a consultation on proposals for the future of Manchester’s mental health services, which is expected over the next few weeks.

Our Aims: About Us

To support users and ex-users of psychiatric services in the Manchester area. The organisation provides a forum for services users to have a bona fide say in planning and provision of mental health services.

Protesters in King’s Lynn fight against mental health service cuts

Protesters took to the streets of King’s Lynn to voice their anger at what they described as “continuous” cutbacks to mental health services in west Norfolk.

Mental health cuts protest

A protest march against cuts to mental health services and the Fermoy Unit at the QEH took place in King's Lynn town centre. Picture: Matthew Usher.

More than 100 campaigners marched from The Walks through the town centre before finishing outside the Majestic Cinema.

Peter Smith, former parliamentary candidate for south-west Norfolk said: “We are in the fight of our lives here.”

The protest was triggered by the Fermoy Unit, an in-patient NHS facility in Lynn for mental health, which campaigners say faces an uncertain future. The unit was briefly closed to new admissions earlier this month, but reopened last week, albeit with fewer beds.

Mr Smith said: “In my lifetime we have never had to fight like this, but what is the alternative?”

But Debbie White, director of operations for Norfolk at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said there were now no plans to axe the Fermoy Unit.

She added: “It is right that mental health services should be valued and funded on the same level as acute health services, and it is understandable people feel passionate about the Fermoy Unit remaining open.”

Labour party activist Jo Rust insisted the issue would not disappear. She said: “They have been talking about closing it for a long time. We will fight and we will not let them do that.”

Beth Anthony, 18 of Dersingham, said: “We are here to protest against the continuous cuts to the mental health service, we think it’s unacceptable. My younger brother suffers from poor mental health and has to travel to London... That is to the detriment of my family because we have to pay for him to go down by train every single month.”